Gas-lighter.



H. ROTTERSMANN.

- GAS LIGHTER. APPLIGATION FILED MAH.2s,191z.

1 ,046,025. l Patented Dec. 3, `1912.

mi BA I sf W HENRY ROTTERSIVIANN, OF ST. LOUIS, IVIISSORI.

Gas-LIGHTER.

To all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, HENRY RoT'rERsMANN, a citizen of the United States, and resident of St. Louis, Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Gas-Lighters, of which the following is a specification containing a full, clear, and eXact de scription, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part hereof.

My invention relates to improvements in gas lighters, and the object of my invention is to construct a device which may be readily attached to the valve casing of a gas burner and arranged so that it will, in one of its movements, open the valve and when released mechanically produce a spark for the ignition of the gas.

With the above purposes in view my invention consists in certain novel features of construction and arrangement of parts as will be hereinafter more fully described, pointed out in the claims and illustrated by the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is an elevation of my complete device as applied to a gas burner; Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1 of the other side of my device; Fig. 3 is a plan of the device as applied to a valve; Fig. 4 is a rear elevation of the complete device detached from the valve; and Fig. 5 is a perspective of the frame which supports the operating parts of my device showing a modified form of means for securing the frame to the valve.

Referring by numerals to the accompanying drawings: 1 designates the valve housing having at its upper end an annular collar 2 designed to receive the tip 3. The tip shown is the type designed to burn acetylene gas. rIhe lowermost end of the valve housing is provided with an internally threaded collar 4 for attachment to the fiX- ture (not shown). The valve proper is not shown, but is made of any ordinary construction of the rotary type and it carries a lever 5 provided with an integral projection 6 on its end opposed to its manipulative end. Secured to the housing 1 is a metallic block 7 which is provided with a face at right angles to a line drawn between corners of the housing and secured to said face of the block 7 is the frame 8 which carries the operative parts of my improved device. The

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed March 28, 1912.

Patented Dec. 3,1912.

Serial No. 686,900.

frame 8 is detachably secured to the block 7 .by means of a screw 9.

In Fig. 5 I illustrate a modified form of means for securing the frame to the valve housing, which means comprises a metallic, elastic clamp 10.arranged to embrace the collar 4 of the burner and be secured thereto by means of the set screw 11. The upper end of the frame 8 is bifurcated to form a pair of ears 12, each of which is perforated adjacent their free extremities in order to support a shaft 13, which is preferably nonrotatably secured between the ears. Mounted to freely rotate upon the shaft 13 is a wheel 14, the periphery of which is knurled or roughened preferably in the form of saw teeth, and a second wheel 15 having gear teeth. The abutting faces of the wheels 14 and l5V are formed with co-acting clutch faces 16. Embracing the shaft and impinging between one of the wheels 14 and 15, and between said wheel and one of the ears 12 is an extensile coil spring 17.

18 designates a bracket which is secured to t-he frame 3 and extends rearwardly and upwardly therefrom having at its free end a barrel 19 which is arranged to receive a section 2O of material which will produce a spark when engaged b v the moving periphery of the wheel 14. The material which I find best adapted to produce sparks is now commercially known as Holleys rifle flint Projected rearwardly from the frame 8 and preferably formed integral with the bracket 18 is an arm 21 perforated at its free end for pivotal connection with the follower 22 which is acted upon by a spring 23 and in engagement with the section of sparking material to hold the material against the periphery of the wheel 14.

24 and 25 designate alining guides which project rearwardly from the frame 8, the uppermost guide having therein a rectangular opening designed to receive the rack bar 26 and the lowermost guide having a circular opening to receive the rod 27 which is secured to the rack bar. The rod 27 carries at its upper end a pair of collars 28 between which and embracing the rodl 27 is one end ofa spring 29, the opposite end of the spring being secured to the frame 8, there being a coil 30 between the ends of the spring. The

projection 6 of the valve lever is arranged to be engaged by one of the collars 28`so that y when the rod 27 is moved downwardly the lever will be moved in a direction to open the valve, and when the spring 29 moves the rod upwardly the valve will remain open and the rack bar 26 will engage with-the gear wheel 15 and, by reason of the clutch faces 16, rotate the knurled wheel 14 thereby producing a spark which will ignite the gas from the open valve.

The guide 25 has a second opening in order to receive the actuating rod 31 which is provided at vits lower end with a knob 32 for its manipulation. Atthe lower end` of the frame and alining with t-he second opening in the guide 25 there is a guide 33, and between the two last mentioned guides and embracing the actuating rod 31 isy an extensile coil spring 3/1 engaging, at its upper end, a pin 35 and at its opposite end the guide 33, thereby tending to normally hold the actuating rod 31 elevated. Carried by the upper extremi-ty ofthe rod 31 there is a detent 36 which engages with the lowermost collar 28 and serves as a connection between the actuating rod and the rack bar 26. The one margin 37 of the actuating rod is inclined, and arranged to engage with said inclined margin in a fixed stud 38 designed to move the upper part of the actuating rod 31 outwardly to free the detent 36 from the collar 28.

In the practical operation of the device, assuming the parts to be in positions shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and it be desired to turn on and light a gas burner, the operator pulls downwardly upon the knob 32 thereby drawing downwardly both the actuating rod and the rack bar 26, through the medium of the detent 36 and the collar 28. This downward movement, by reason of the engagement of the collar 28A with the projection 6 of the valve lever, opens the gas valve and, by reason of the clutch faces between the knurled wheel let and gear wheel 15, the gear wheel may rotate without eect upon the knurled wheel. IVhen the actuating rod 31 has reached a certain point the detent 36 will be disengaged from the collar 28, thereby permitting the spring 29 to act kupon the rack bar to elevate it. In the elevation of the rack bar the gear wheel 15 will be rotated and in its rotation, by reason of the clutch faces referred to, will rotate the knurled wheel ina direction to throw a spark from the section of sparking material directly into the gas issuing from the tip. The parts are thus all in their normal positions except the lever of the gas valve.

Vhen it is desired to extinguish the gas it is accomplished by a simple manipulation of the lever alone without effect/upon the lighting attachment.

I claim:

1. In a gas lighter, the combination with a gas valve having a lever for its operation'7 a holder for a section of sparking material, a member having a roughened surface for engagement with the sparking material, a manipulative member arranged to operate the lever of the gas valve in one of its movements without elfect upon the roughened element, and in its other movement effect an operation of the roughened element without effect upon the said lever.

2. In a gas lighter, a frame, means for detachably securing the frame to a gas fixture, a holder secured to said frameand arranged to hold a quantity of sparking material, a knurled wheel rotatably mounted in` the frame in proximity to said holder, a gear wheel, interlocking clutch faces formed on the` knurled wheel and the gear wheel, a spring acting on the gear wheel, a rack bar arranged to engage with the gear wheel, a spring for moving the rack bar in one direction, a manipulative rod, means for connecting the manipulative rod with the rack bar so that they will be moved in one direction in unison, and means for releasing said connecting means after a predetermined distance of travel of the manipulative rod.

3. In a gas lighter, a frame, means for detachably securing the frame to a gas fixture, a holder for a quantity of sparking material secured to the frame, a spring actuated follower for said material, a knurled wheel rotatably mounted in the frame and arranged for engagement with the sparking material, a gear wheel, a rack bar for rotating said gear wheel, means whereby a rotation of the gear wheel will effect the rotation of the knurled wheel when rotated in one direction only, a spring fo-r moving the rack bar in one direction, a manipulative element,

l'un -irftion between said rack bar and said manipulative element, whereby upon a movement of the manipulative element the rack bar will be moved by hand for a limited distance only, then automatically released to be acted upon by said spring.

4. A gas lighter, comprising in combination a burner having a valve provided with a lever, a holder for a quantity of sparking material, a knurled element for engagement with said sparking material, a manipulative element spring-actuated in one direction and arranged to operate said lever when moved in one direction and to move said knurled element when moved in the opposite direction.

5. A gas lighter, comprising in combination a burner having a valve provided with a lever, a frame, means for detachably securing the frame to the gas burner, a holder for a quantity of sparking material secured to the frame, a knurled element in said frame for engagement With said sparking In testimony whereof, I have signed my material, a manipulative element sprlng-aename to this specification, 1n presence of two tuated 1n one dlrectlon on sand frame and subscribing Witnesses.

arranged to operate said lever when moved HENRY ROTTERSMANN. in one direction and to move said lmurled Witnesses:

element when moved n the opposite direc- E. L. VALLAGE,

tion. f E. M. HARRINGTON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

